Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to say I understand where our witnesses are coming from on some of the issues but I understand what some people might describe as minority stress that is taken on board not because of personal events but because of society's attitude. I got through my youth with music and the arts. My family is probably better known for music than for politics.

When I was growing up and was distressed because of sexuality, I would have taken it out through music - the violin, the fiddle and traditional music. So many of the songs I would have learnt were collected by Travelling people such as John Reilly from Carrick-on-Shannon, who lived in Boyle. There were songs about the Travelling people, like Ewan MacColl's "Go, Move, Shift" and John Spillane's gorgeous song about John Reilly. I would say the scholars and song collectors could scarcely believe their ears when they heard John Reilly chanting ballads they thought had long since disappeared. So many of the songs I would have learnt were collected by John Reilly, and there is this rich culture that the Traveller community has.

My question is related to the arts and mental health because that was my way of dealing with hassle and mental stress. Will the witnesses paint a picture of the state of Travelling culture in terms of music and song? What could the State do to support that, not only as a means of supporting mental health but also of keeping the tradition and culture alive?